While "speculation has centered" on the Braves and Cubs
if "opposition arises" to the Dodgers' sale to News Corp.,
one NL owner "suggested" to the L.A. TIMES' Ross Newhan that
he "may be looking in the wrong places." The owner said,
"There's a better story in your own neighborhood." The NL
owner: "According to the tom-toms, [Dodgers Owner Peter
O'Malley's] friends to the north and south are working to
undermine the deal." The owner cited "competition" as the
possible reason for opposition by the Padres and Giants, and
he added, "Everyone is scared to death Rupert will throw
everything he's got into the Dodgers and create an uneven
playing field. Some clubs could live with that easier than
others." While approval of the sale "is expected to be a
breeze" in the AL, for the sale to be approved in the NL,
the "three-fourths requirement ... where four clubs could
kill it, could be tougher." Padres President Larry
Lucchino: "We're not trying to undermine anything. But I
think it would be accurate to put the Padres in the
undecided category, and we've let the Dodgers and Fox know
we're undecided." Giants Exec VP & COO Larry Baer: "We
don't sense any organized resistance to the Fox application,
but we haven't seen the application yet. ... [W]e obviously
want to know more about it. Is the club going to be
operated by Fox, by Murdoch? Who's the principal owner?"
On NL exec: "Rupert recently said that he'll spend what he
needs to spend to have a quality team, and that wasn't taken
well at all (among owners). There's also concern he'll
attempt to do international what [Braves Owner] Ted Turner
did (for a time) domestically (with TBS) and that is to put
Dodgers games on his satellite connections without sharing
the revenue" (L.A. TIMES, 8/17). O'Malley said he's been
asked and has agreed to stay on as club president after the
transfer of ownership to Fox is complete (AP, 8/17).
